This Stray Cats live in Grand Prairie review almost never happened.
A few months ago, my wife Chari and I drove to Tulsa to see the Stray Cats live for the first time. What started as a concert quickly turned into a road-trip adventure that included Route 66 landmarks and a visit to The Outsiders House Museum.
Before we had even left for Tulsa, however, the Stray Cats announced an additional leg of the tour that would resume after a late-summer break and kick off in Grand Prairie. We had planned an entire road trip around seeing the band thinking they weren’t coming to our area. Of course, they added a show nearby.
For a brief period, we discussed whether it still made sense to make the Tulsa trip. Just the week before, I had traveled to California to spend time with my brother during his battle with cancer. He passed away while I was there. After everything that came with that experience, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be away from home again.
The Tulsa trip ended up being exactly what I needed. The concert was outstanding, but so was everything surrounding it. Visiting stretches of Route 66 brought back memories of growing up in Rancho Cucamonga, California, just a few miles south of the Mother Road. We also got to delve into 80s movie history. The weekend gave us a chance to focus on music, family, travel, and positive memories at a time when all of that was needed.
Grand Prairie was a very different experience. The road trip was already behind us. This time, the focus was entirely on the music.
Rock This Town Close to Home
The Texas Trust CU Theatre has quietly become our go-to concert venue this year. By my count, the Stray Cats show was already my fourth visit there this year.
Earlier in the year, Colton and I saw The Human League, Soft Cell, and Alison Moyet on the Generations Tour. A few weeks later, all three of us returned for Howard Jones, Wang Chung, The English Beat, and Modern English. Most recently, Chari and I were back again for Squeeze, Adam Ant, and Haircut 100. Chari and Colton even managed to fit a Riverdance show there as well.
At this point, we’re at the venue often enough that they should probably give us a reserved parking spot.
Since it was built as a concert venue, the acoustics are excellent. It’s also one of the easier venues in the area when it comes to parking and getting out afterward. Since it shares the grounds with Lone Star Park, there never seems to be a shortage of parking and there are several lanes in and out. Besides, most of the concerts we’ve attended haven’t even opened the upper level. The result is a crowd large enough to create energy but not so large that you’re questioning your life choices while trying to leave the parking lot afterward.
That was especially noticeable compared to Tulsa. A few months earlier, we’d planned hotel reservations, researched Route 66 stops and museums, and even mapped out a different route home through Stillwater, to visit our son away at college for lunch. For Grand Prairie, the biggest decision of the day involved toll roads.
I’ve never been particularly enthusiastic about paying to drive on a road when I’m already paying taxes to build roads. I’ll admit it, I’m cheap. After several minutes of debate, that almost certainly exceeded the amount of time we’d save by taking the tollway, we chose the free roads taking our chances with Dallas-Fort Worth traffic.
Not every concert trip need be a Route 66 adventure. Sometimes the biggest challenge is deciding how much traffic you’re willing to endure in exchange for keeping a few extra dollars in your pocket.
Hellcat: The Rare Opening Act Exception
One of the observations I made after the Tulsa show was that casino concerts have an underrated advantage: they usually skip the opening act altogether.
The Stray Cats walked onstage, played a tight, high-energy set, and had us leaving the concert hall before 9:30. As a Gen Xer, that’s pretty close to my ideal evening. I enjoy live music, but I also enjoy functioning the next morning.
Because of that, I don’t typically arrive at concerts excited about opening acts, especially when I’ve never heard of them before. Every once in a while, though, an opening act surprises me. The last one that made this kind of impression was Zach Top opening for Dierks Bentley a few years back.
The Chin Chins can now join that list. I really enjoyed their show and music.
The band’s connection to the tour caught my attention because I learned the drummer is Tré Cool of Green Day. The vocalist is his wife, Sara Rose Wright. The rest of the lineup includes Buzz Campbell on guitar and Eddie Montoya on upright bass, giving the band a sound that blends rockabilly, punk, and roots rock.
What stood out most, however, was Wright’s stage presence. I’ve photographed dozens of concerts over the years, and most performers eventually stop moving long enough to give photographers a fighting chance. Sara Rose Wright apparently missed that meeting.
She spent the entire set dancing, spinning, running from one side of the stage to the other, and generally behaving as though standing still violated band policy. Trying to get a good photograph became less of a photography exercise and more of a reflex test. At times she reminded me of the Tasmanian Devil, bouncing around the stage so quickly that it was difficult to predict where she’d appear next.
I eventually managed to get one of my favorite photos of the evening when she climbed onto the upright bass and posed above the crowd. The fact that I actually got the shot still feels mildly miraculous. I also think their drummer might have a future in the business.
Another memorable moment came when Tré Cool launched into “The stars at night are big and bright.” The audience immediately responded with “Deep in the heart of Texas,” because that’s apparently written into the state constitution somewhere. Cool seemed genuinely delighted by the reaction, while the audience treated it less like participation and more like a civic responsibility.
Most importantly, The Chin Chins accomplished something very few opening acts manage. By the end of their set, people weren’t simply waiting for the Stray Cats anymore. They had earned the crowd’s attention, and judging by the standing ovation they received from much of the audience, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
To be honest, I still prefer the casino-show format. But if every opening act were this entertaining, I’d complain about them a lot less.
Bring It Back Again
When we traveled to Tulsa, there were still a couple of unanswered questions about the band. We’d seen the Brian Setzer Orchestra multiple times over the years and already knew what a phenomenal guitarist and performer Brian Setzer could be. However, this tour came after a health scare that had temporarily left him unable to physically play guitar for a while. So naturally there was some curiosity about how fully he had recovered. Beyond that, there was the question of whether the Stray Cats would still mesh after all these years.
Tulsa answered both questions and then some. Setzer looked fully recovered, his guitar playing was every bit as sharp as we remembered, and the chemistry between Setzer, Lee Rocker, and Slim Jim Phantom was immediately apparent. By the time Grand Prairie arrived, there was no need to evaluate anything. We already knew the band still had it, which made it easier to simply enjoy the performance and pay attention to some of the details we missed the first time around.
Three Times a Charm
One thing I noticed right away was how good the sound was inside Texas Trust. During several songs, I could clearly hear Lee Rocker slapping the strings on his upright bass. That’s such an important part of the Stray Cats sound, and hearing that sharp percussive attack come through so clearly added another layer to the performance. It also reinforced why we’ve grown so fond of this venue. When the sound is that good, little details don’t get lost.
Rocker remains one of the most entertaining bass players you’ll ever see. While he didn’t lay on top of the bass and play it the way he did in Tulsa. He still found ways to make it the center of attention. At one point he laid the bass down and played while bent over it, proving once again that he approaches the upright bass less as an instrument and more as a dance partner with strings. Later in the set, he handled lead vocals on a couple of rockabilly classics. Providing another reminder that the Stray Cats have never been a one-man show.
After seeing the Stray Cats twice this year, I’m still fascinated by Slim Jim Phantom. Most drummers spend their careers adding equipment. Phantom built an entire career by figuring out what he could take away. Watching him stand behind that minimalist drum setup for an entire concert remains one of the more unusual sights in rock and roll. Also, what stood out to me more in Grand Prairie was how much he contributes vocally. Between the harmonies, call-and-response parts, and various vocal flourishes throughout the evening, he’s doing far more than simply keeping time.
One of my favorite moments came when Setzer ad-libbed a line during a song and called him “Skinny Jim.” Whether it was planned or spontaneous, it got a laugh and served as another reminder that these three still seem to genuinely enjoy sharing a stage together.
Runaway Boys
Before Tulsa, I probably thought of the Stray Cats primarily as Brian Setzer’s band. After Tulsa and Grand Prairie, I see them differently. Setzer may be the most recognizable member, but the band’s identity comes from the combination of all three personalities. Rocker’s showmanship, Phantom’s unique drumming style, and Setzer’s musicianship create something that still feels distinctive nearly fifty years later. Many bands from the early MTV era continue to tour. Not many still feature all of their original members, something Setzer pointed out in Tulsa. Even fewer bands seem to genuinely enjoy being together.
One of the things I appreciated most about seeing the Stray Cats twice this year was realizing how much fun they still appear to have onstage. Whether it was Setzer’s interaction with Phantom, Rocker’s bass playing, or the little improvised moments between songs, nothing felt forced or mechanical. Anyone who has attended enough reunion tours has probably seen musicians who looked like they were fulfilling a contractual obligation. The Stray Cats don’t come across that way.
Too Hip, Gotta Go
I’m grateful we never talked ourselves out of the Tulsa trip. That weekend gave us Route 66, The Outsiders House Museum, lunch with our son and his girlfriend in Stillwater. That gave us the chance to create some positive memories during a difficult time.
The two shows ended up complementing each other perfectly. Tulsa gave us the adventure, while Grand Prairie gave us another opportunity to appreciate a great band from a different perspective. The biggest surprise was how much I enjoyed the opening act. The biggest takeaway was realizing that nearly fifty years later, the Stray Cats still look like they’re having fun. Honestly, that’s not a bad reason to see the Stray Cats twice in the same year. Plus since they are on of my wife’s favorite bands, I scored some husband bonus points.
